1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a structure and method for mounting an electric equipment unit such as, for example, mounting a center cluster module to the instrument panel of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
A large number of electric components such as various meters, switches and the like are gathered in and around, for example, the instrument panel of an automobile. As a result, their mounting is uneasy. Further, due to the resulting many branches of wiring harnesses and their connecting connectors, it has been difficult to automate the production of wiring harnesses.
As a countermeasure to the above problems, the Applicant has proposed a center console module as shown in FIG. 37 (Japanese Patent Application No. 6-143117).
The center console module 1 is formed separately from the instrument panel P. This module 1 comprises a center console panel 2, a plurality of electric components 3 (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) mounted on the console panel 2, and a module wiring harness 5 (5a, 5b) contained inside the console panel 2, the wiring harness having at one end movable multipolar connectors 7, 7' and at an intermediate portion a plurality of connectors 8 connected to the corresponding electric components 3. The center console module 1 is mounted in the central mount opening 9, followed by coupling the movable multipolar connectors 7, 7' to a collective connector 10 so that the console module 1 is connected to an instrument wiring harness W or a not-shown cowl wiring harness. In this figure, denoted 4 is an electronic control unit for controlling the plurality of electric components 3, and 6 a finish panel.
The center console module 1 has a center cluster in the instrument panel P integrally incorporated therein, but depending on the type and grade of an automobile, a structure is still being used in which a center cluster and a console box are separated from each other. A center cluster, however, is conventionally installed by separately moving its many components such as a cluster case, internal circuit board, finish panel and the like in parallel to the mount opening in the instrument panel, resulting in a low operability. In particular, since fixing members such as fixing clamps and their shafts-receiving holes get out of sight during the installation operation, difficulty has been encountered in the blind operation.